Successful Environmental Challenge to Operating Centre

In an unusual change of roles, Harry Bowyer (usually instructed on behalf of the Operator) was asked to represent the interests of Representors. The Representors were seeking to challenge an Operator’s application to vary his licence to allow a new operating centre and to increase the number of vehicles on his licence.

Representors (being those who occupy land in the vicinity of the proposed operating centre), have rights to make representations to the Traffic Commissioner, but these are limited to the extent that the proposed operating centre would prejudicially affect their enjoyment of their land.

In this case the proposed operating centre was accessed by a private lane shared by several houses. The Operator was proposing to run 32 tonne aggregate lorries up this lane some 16 times per day with obvious risk to the other users of the lane. The lane itself was in a poor state of repair and of uncertain ownership.

Result:  Authorisation for the use of the proposed operating centre was refused with no consequential increase of the number of vehicles on the operator’s licence. A good result for the Representors.